Cooperation between the council and government officials has generally been strong but occasionally the two do not see eye to eye. Ola Salem takes a look at five significant clashes between them in the past two and half years.
Minister’s mockery?
Members of the FNC were baffled during a session in March 2012 when Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, refused to answer a member’s question on pensions and social insurance.
His reasoning was that the letter that had come to him from the council was not signed by the Speaker, Mohammed Al Murr, and therefore he was not obliged to answer it. Dr Abdulrahim Al Shahin (RAK), who had put forward the question, said he had to read the minister’s response several times to digest it, but was shocked at the mocking response. The Speaker, too, was shocked.
Trying to calm the situation, Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs, told Dr Al Shahin not to read too much into the answer.
Wadeema’s law name change
Despite hours of protests from the Minister of Social Affairs, Mariam Al Roumi, members of the FNC remained firm and voted to change the name of Wadeema’s law – named after an eight-year-old girl tortured to death by her father and his girlfriend – to the Child Rights law “to protect her family”.
Ms Al Roumi said that the name was suggested by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to remind people of the heinous acts that parents could commit against their children.
Members insisted that UAE society was small and such a name could tarnish the reputation of the rest of the girl’s family. They added that society should not be constantly reminded of such a tragedy.
Human trafficking victims, or not?
Discussions to amend the UAE’s pioneering 2006 Human Trafficking law to give victims more rights almost took a wrong turn when members argued that some of those trafficked were prostitutes and should not benefit from the law.
Members said new wording could lead to prostitutes being labelled as trafficked victims, because they were now to be referred to as “dahaya”, Arabic for victim, giving them legal protection. Instead, they said they should be referred to as “majni alayhim”, stipulating that the victim could be prosecuted for other crimes.
Dr Anwar Gargash made huge efforts to convince the council otherwise. He told them such a change would take the country backwards in an area where it has already achieved so much.
After a long struggle, the council passed the law as the Government wanted, keeping the term “dahaya” for trafficked victims.
Pensions head’s refusal to submit to questioning
The council faced long delays in getting responses from Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Finance Affairs and deputy head of the General Authority for Pensions and Social Insurance, on a number of questions related to pensions.
On one occasion Mr Al Tayer appeared before the FNC, but said he was not in a position to answer the questions because the pension authority was going through a reshuffle. He said once that was over he would be happy to respond to the questions. However, he did no such thing until much later.
Several members have pinpointed him, among a handful of other ministers, as “not keen to cooperate”.
Minister’s lack of cooperation
Last month, in a strong opening to their report on the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma), a committee said that the authority did not cooperate while they were drawing up their findings.
During the session, the chairman of Esma, Dr Rashid bin Fahad, also the Minister of Environment, said he was surprised to hear such remarks and that he would investigate the matter. The committee stood by what they said, despite council members finding such a strong claim objectionable.
This was not the first clash with Dr bin Fahad. Last year, following a discussion on genetically modified plants, a member described his attitude to the council as “rude”.
osalem@thenational.ae
